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Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D)


Expands on Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (A) and (B). Company considers entry into the Japanese market.

Authors :: Darrel G. Clarke

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Market research, Pricing, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D)" written by Darrel G. Clarke includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Clark Handling facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Market research, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Clark Handling, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Clark Handling operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Clark Handling
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Clark Handling




Strengths Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Clark Handling in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Clark Handling has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Innovation driven organization

– Clark Handling is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Clark Handling are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

High brand equity

– Clark Handling has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Clark Handling to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Clark Handling has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Strong track record of project management

– Clark Handling is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Clark Handling in the sector have low bargaining power. Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Clark Handling to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Clark Handling to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Clark Handling to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- Clark Handling is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Clark Handling is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

– Clark Handling is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Clark Handling in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Analytics focus

– Clark Handling is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Darrel G. Clarke can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.






Weaknesses Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) are -

Lack of clear differentiation of Clark Handling products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Clark Handling needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Clark Handling needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Clark Handling is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Darrel G. Clarke suggests that, Clark Handling is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) HBR case study mentions - Clark Handling takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Clark Handling has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Clark Handling has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Clark Handling has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Clark Handling even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Clark Handling has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Clark Handling supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Clark Handling vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.




Opportunities Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) are -

Manufacturing automation

– Clark Handling can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Clark Handling has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Clark Handling to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Clark Handling can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Clark Handling operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Clark Handling in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Clark Handling to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Clark Handling to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Clark Handling to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Clark Handling has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Clark Handling to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) case study. Clark Handling can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Clark Handling in the consumer business. Now Clark Handling can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Clark Handling can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Clark Handling can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Buying journey improvements

– Clark Handling can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Clark Handling is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Clark Handling can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.




Threats Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Clark Handling demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Clark Handling needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Clark Handling can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– Clark Handling needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Clark Handling.

Increasing wage structure of Clark Handling

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Clark Handling.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Clark Handling will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Clark Handling can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Clark Handling has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Clark Handling needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Clark Handling in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D), Clark Handling may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Clark Handling with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Environmental challenges

– Clark Handling needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Clark Handling can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product Strategy (D) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Clark Handling needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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